With all of the intentions of going to Rouen in the morning I went to bed on Saturday night. I had a train ticket purchased and my alarm set, and in typical Sam fashion, did not get up when my alarm went off, and ended up cancelling my ticket and getting a refund. It was too hot outside to spend a whole day walking around and such, so instead I slept in a bit. I woke up and went out to get some food, walked around, and was actually pretty glad I didn't spend the day in Rouen because I was sweating just walking up the street. After eating I took a nap and woke up thinking what a waste the day had been, and so was born the idea of my night walk in Paris.
It's a pretty safe city, even at night, so I grabbed my camera, planned a route and went. I took the metro to La Place de la Concorde, and walked along the river towards the Eiffel Tower in the distance, all lit up and pretty. When the option came for the less sketchy, but less interesting walk on the street, or the slightly more sketchy, much more interesting walk along the path below the street next to the river came, one can only imagine how instantaneous the decision to walk right alongside the river was made. It was an incredible experience. It was quite the contrast to walking during the day. I was pretty much the only one there and the sound of the waves was all I heard. I could see the Eiffel Tower lighting up the sky in the background, and the lampposts for the bridges over the river lighting up the foreground for me. It was great to be in such a peaceful state of mind in the middle of what is usually such a busy city. I walked over one of the bridges to walk on the other side of the river, and when I had had enough I walked back across and up Avenue George V to make my way towards Champs Elysees, which I had heard was fantastic at night. It was. There were many more people there than where I was before, but they were shopping or eating or just walking along the wide sidewalk. I completed my circle by walking back down the Champs Elysees right back into La Place de la Concorde. It was certainly one of the greatest scenic walks I have taken. Paris certainly merits its name as the City of Lights.
I apologize for the quality of the pictures. It seems the $70 camera I bought at Best Buy before leaving wasn't really meant for night use. So, the pictures do no justice to the beauty of Paris at night, but I've included them nonetheless. Enjoy!
